Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has bought 25,000 acres of land in Arizona to create a new smart city called Belmont. Located a short distance from Phoenix, the site has cost Gates' investment firm Cascade Investment LLC $80m to acquire.

Prescott -
Germany-based Sonnen GmbH is partnering with Arizona home builder Mandalay Homes on a community solar photovoltaic project of 2,900 homes in Prescott, designed to act as a virtual power plant.

Firefighters in Southern Arizona are struggling today with a fast-moving wildfire that has already burned over 21,000 acres. Called the Goodwin Fire, it has forced the evacuation of thousands of residents.

The core of extreme heat keeping the southwestern part of the country in misery will expand its reach into the Pacific Northwest as the hot, dry weather further elevates the wildfire risk in the Southwest through Sunday.

Phoenix -
Just in time for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, in a state that refused to recognize the holiday until 1992, comes yet another attack on the civil rights icon's teachings and legacy as Arizona Republicans push a bill that would ban social justice education.

San Bernardino -
Fire-ravaged terrain in the path of this week's Blue Cut fire was still smoldering when CalFire assessment experts fanned out into the damaged area, trying to figure out what exactly was destroyed and what it would cost to replace it.

Triple-digit temperatures, along with gusty winds and dry conditions allowed a wildfire to quickly spread in a rural subdivision 50 miles northeast of Sacramento, forcing the evacuation of 400 families.

Milwaukee -
No doubt about it, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's dismal attempt at running for president was a spectacular failure, so perhaps now he's taking it out on those unlucky enough to need welfare assistance.

Los Angeles -
A student armed with a handgun killed another student in a "confrontation" at an Arizona university early Friday that also left three others with multiple gunshot wounds, police said, in the latest shooting at a US college.

Desert Center -
The major route connecting Los Angeles and Phoenix, which was closed when a huge surge of floodwater damaged bridges spanning small desert washes will partially reopen Friday, much sooner than officials had earlier anticipated.

All traffic on Interstate 10 between California and Arizona has been halted indefinitely after a bridge over a desert wash collapsed during a heavy rain storm. The roadway in the opposite direction also received heavy damage.

Santa Ana -
More than two dozen for-profit technical colleges — most in the San Francisco Bay Area — closed abruptly on Monday, leaving thousands of students without classes or degrees but with thousands of dollars of debt.

Here's a skill that Batman might wish he had: Scientists have discovered that some bats can mess up each other's chances of snagging a meal. Just think: Batman could put the bad guys on a diet by doing this. He could starve them into behaving.

Phoenix -
Some breaking news finds the Arizona National Guard confirming that a military helicopter caught on camera dropping candy was one of their own. The flight crew has been suspended pending a military investigation.